Legend of Grimrock Preview
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Hunting for secret passages, navigating puzzles, and avoiding death traps kept me alert and engaged between monstrous encounters. It was the ever-present quest for that next piece of potentially amazing piece of loot that gave me the discipline to poke in every alcove and double check every dark corner. Early-on, being forced to heft basic rocks and rusty daggers felt emasculating, as my party's captors had completely neutered them of their killing potential. I wasn't able to shake that feeling throughout the first three dungeon levels I explored. Most of the better gear I scavenged was a sad, tattered array of basic kits like swords, clubs, and spears. Useful as it was, there wasn't much of a wow-factor. But as I uncovered more interesting items like lightning bombs, shuriken, and magical orbs towards the tail end of my run, it gave me some hope of finding greater bounty in the deeper reaches of the adventure.
Beyond the enjoyable rhythm of battle and exploration, the subtle, simple nuances really added to the experience. Torches I carried slowly burned out over time, affecting the level of illumination along the corridors I explored. Food had to be scavenged and consumed in order to heal while my party rested resting. I even found a mortar and pestle that let me craft potions by dropping different ingredients I had collected into a grid, though mixing potions felt a bit rudimentary when compared to other fleshed-out RPG crafting systems found in games like Minecraft and Skyrim. It all came together to give these grim dungeons a life of their own, and the strange earthquakes and haunting dreams my party began experiencing as I pushed further along in my quest hinted at darker things afoot. If anything, my short time spent wading headlong into the perils of Mount Grimrock left me even more eager to escape its embrace -- but not because I'd had my fill. Because I realized I wouldn't be able to rest until I've scoured every inch of its labyrinthine delights.
